posted
Que trumpets! Finally, another chapter in the soap that is Thad Armstrong's life!
CHAPTER 24 [PNS Orion (BC), Brig, (ETA to Target: 9 days)]
Charles Braganovich sat in his cell, staring blankly at the bulkhead, face an expressionless mask. His original blinding terror had subsided and transformed itself into a steadily growing knot of rage. Charles was even forced to admit that part of that rage was directed at himself. If he had not been so bone headed, so blinded by his volatile temper, he would have remembered that the puffed-up navy bitch wasn't the run of the mill navy officer. She was currently the Committees darling, which made her dangerous to anyone who crossed her. Including even an SS Commodore whom she had goaded into attempting an assault on her. And thus he sat, stewing in the brig of his own ship.
His cell door opened, admitting first a member of the normal SS security detail, then a Peoples Marine. Charles had quickly established that the Marine was here to make sure that he remained in his cell. He snorted to himself. As if his crew would willingly let him out. Too many of his subordinates turned jailers had been all to willing to keep him locked up. The relished seeing the mighty brought low, even if it was one of their own cut off at the knees by a mere naval officer. Charles was forced to admit that many of those in State Security were in it merely for the power, not for any true love for the state. That merely added to his growing anger. Had they now idea that it was the SS's solemn duty to eliminate enemies of the people, wherever they might lie? He himself had seen the excesses of the Legislaturalists, seen how they had kept the people downtrodden and used the navy to do it. When Pierre and the Committee came to power after the failed military coup, they had been the ray of hope that Charles had been searching for. Did his fellow officers not long, as he did, to obliterate all of the old system that had shackled the people? But no, they were only in it for the power their position and role gave them over their fellow citizens.
"Prisoner 1769/4200, your food is here." The burly, no nonsense marine said. There was a hint of a smile on his face. Prisoner rations were some of the most inedible things Charles had ever tasted, and the marine knew it. The SS guard smirked openly, then walked past the marine and handed Charles a food pouch. As he did so, he palmed Charles a chip reader as well. Charles impassive mask nearly broke from surprise, but he quickly master the turmoil of emotions that had boiled up inside him. The SS guard, Lt. Louis Penio was still between Charles and the marine, blocking his line of sight. Charles quickly shoved the reader into the rear waistband of his florescent orange prisoner jumpsuit. He ate in silence, then handed the empty food pouch back to Lt. Louis. Both the SS and Marine guard exited the cell, leaving Charles alone with his thoughts and a standard SS issue chip reader.
[GSN Warspite, Flagship - TF 55, Leaving Yeltsin System, Enroute to Looking Glass Base (Coordinates of destination unavailable, requires Omega Black level security clearance)]
Thad stood tall beside his command chair, Taz hanging on his shoulder with a satisfied smile on his face. While the time spent at Yeltsin star was far from uneventful, Taz could taste the crew's anticipation and eagerness to get back into space. Their duties also allowed the Grayson members of his crew to put concerns over Lady Dame Honor Harrington on the back burner for a while. Thad knew full well how much that had been weighing on Taz's normally incorrigible persona. Since word of her disappearance had become public knowledge, Taz had picked up on the tension of the crew, and had become increasingly irritable. His good spirits were a pleasant change.
On the tactical plot beside Thad, the green icons of friendly ships glowed warmly. Task Force 55's four Warspite Class battle cruisers, five Courvosier Class Grayson built battle cruisers, three Star Knight (GR refit) Class heavy cruisers, eight Jason Alvarez Class Grayson built heavy cruisers hung in precise formation. The ten destroyers and a single fleet tender loaded up with over 2000 spare Ghost Rider missile pods englobed and formed the centerpiece of the formation respectively. The flotilla was two hours away from the hyper limit under their present acceleration of 350 gravities.
Considering that TF 55 was a scratch built unit with none of the main units ever having worked together, the tight formation was a testament to the skill of those crewing the most powerful battle cruiser squadron in known space. Despite their unfamiliarity with eachother, there was virtually none of the normal confusion that went with shaking down a new squadron. These people were seasoned veterans, well up to the challenge the new squadron put in front of them. Thad just hoped that he was worthy to command such people. He hoped that his fears could be put to rest in a few minutes. If they weren't�
Taz chittered on his shoulder reprovingly. His feelings were clear at least. If they had trouble with Thad as their flag captain, that was ts for them. If only their approval was as easy to gain as Taz's, everything would bee fine. But Thad knew full well how much more complicated human emotions were than treecats.
"Captain." The watch com officer said quietly from her station. When he turned and cast a questioning look at her, she continued. "They are ready for you in the flag briefing room, sir."
"Thank you Lt., you may inform them that I shall be there directly. Miss Yuki, you have the watch."
[Three minutes later, Flag Briefing Room, GSN Warspite]
The relatively large room was fairly packed to the gills. It was understandable because Admiral Cole had requested that nearly every captain in TF 55 gather here. The only ones given leave to remain on their ships were the destroyer screen skippers. But their squadron commander was here, and he would be sure to pass word on to them. The emotions in the room were slightly tense. Some of the captains were strongly opposed to having Thaddeus Armstrong remain the task forces flag captain. With the revelations of his past still fresh in their minds, that was understandable. But Cole's support for Thad should have ended their dissention.
Unfortunately that wasn't the case. Many of the skippers were Grayson officers. They held Honor Harrington in near idolatry. Her going missing in action had many of them concerned to say the least. It was highly ironic that a woman, and a foreign infidel at that, had become the patron saint of the Grayson Navy. Despite the irony, that was what she had become, and her loss bit the Graysons especially hard. They couldn't take their fear and anger out on the Peeps, so they had to find someone to vent it at. And that someone just happened to be the convenient target of Captain Thaddeus Armstrong.
Despite Admiral Cole's repeated request's for quiet, the cacophony of angry voices continued to build. The majority of them were being difficult because they were against Thad remaining flag captain, the rest were being difficult because they were trying to convince their peers to change their minds.
It was into this storm that Thad walked. He made his way to the stage at the front of the room with a deliberate pace. As he strode down the center aisle, the din sweeping around him caused Taz to flatten his ears and hiss. Thad strode up to the podium and stood there calmly, waiting for a chance to speak. It wasn't quick in coming. Thad waited for a full minute and still there was no sign of the officers stopping their argument. If anything, the crowd grew even more vocal. Some on opposite sides of the argument even began to push eachother.
This has gone far enough, thought Thad. His fist flashed down with impossible speed, hitting the podium's top squarely in the middle. Even ironwood, tough as it was, has a breaking point. Thad reached and exceeded that breaking point with his blow, and as a result the podium split neatly in half down the middle. The reverberating thud of his fist combined with the splintering of the lectern caused all activity in the room to stop instantly. Many of the gathered officers gaped openly, their expressions surprised and voices silent. Thad never raised his voice, yet it flailed on the assembled officers like a cat o nine tails. His voice carried the full weight of command, like the kind that bosun's used on misbehaving midshipmen.
"Look at yourselves!" Thad snorted. "You call your selves naval officers? You're acting like a bunch of snot nosed kids throwing a tantrum. Some of you are even on the edge of starting a brawl! Is that how you were trained to act? Is this the example you want to show your junior officers?"
"Easy for you to say, murderer!" An anonymous voice called out. The beast inside Thad rallied against the strong chains binding it, longing to be set loose. But as he had done for over 18 years, Thad held it in check. He also felt Taz lending his support as well, further securing the anger that always threatened to burst forth. Thad sent a silent word of thanks to his furry companion, then redirected his attention back to the crowd.
"I have killed in the past, I admit to that much. But as for murder, never! Every incidence was in self defense."
"Ya right, like we can believe you!" another voice shouted. The voice sounded
"Weather you choose to believe me or not is up to you, but just stop and think for a minute. You are NAVAL OFFICERS, yet here you are, bickering amongst yourselves." The tide of angry voices started to increase yet again. Time to bring out the big guns, Thad thought. "What would Lady Harrington think of all this?" That stopped them cold. "Have you stopped to think about that? Would this dissention be something she would endorse? Hell no, she would have jerked you so hard you would have gotten whiplash and you damn well know it!" He had them now. He could see it in their eyes. "We are going to whip this task force into shape right the F**K now, starting with you. From now on, no more useless dissention, no more infighting. We stand united, and together we shall not fall. And when we go calling on the Peeps, they are gonna wish they had never dared to lay a finger on Lady Honor Harrington." Thad looked across the assembled sea of the black on gold and blue on blue uniforms. "Agreed?"
For a moment nothing happened, and the universe seemed to hold its collective breath. Then a single voice started chanting a single word. It was a hungry word fairly dripping with anticipation.
"Honor! Honor! Honor!"
Soon other voices joined it.
"Honor! Honor! Honor!"
The entire room shook with the force of their words.
"HONOR! HONOR! HONOR!"
Thad took great pride in joining in the inundation of sound. Some of them might still harbor resentment towards him, but he had reminded them of their duty. They would follow his orders. He was the flag captain in fact as well as form now. Thad felt a hand on his right shoulder. He looked up and saw Bruce Cole looking at him. He had a big smile on his face. The sparkle in his eyes and the thunder of voices said that he had indeed made the correct choice where Thaddeus Armstrong was concerned.
-------------------- Jack O'Neal - I like their style. Shoot first, send flowers later.
posted
CHAPTER 25 [Thad's quarters, GSN Warspite, one hour later]
Thad paced restlessly in his room. Not even a chiding bleek from Taz lazing on his perch was enough to assuage his nervousness. When he had initially planned this meeting he had hoped that it would be like old times. But the guarded words and expression of his best friend had spoke volumes as to just how different things had become. He replayed the conversation after the meeting over in his head for what seemed the millionth time.
"Luke, can I talk with you for a minute?" He had called out to his friend. When Luke Killkreek had turned and faced him, the usual warm smile he gave so freely was gone, and in its place was a carefully schooled mask of nonexpression. It was totally different from the muted anger and excitement that was the most powerful emotions running through the dispersing crowd.
"Sir?" The words were courteous enough, and they were delivered in a courteous tone, but the very fact that Luke had used Thad's title, not his name spoke greater volumes than the mask on his face had. I was a great shock to Thad, not all together unexpected considering the reaction of the other personnel, but it still came as a blow. Somehow he managed to get the rest of his words out.
"I would like for you to come to my quarters before you go back to your ship."
"I am not sure that I have the time for that Sir. There are still preparations that have to be made on my ship before we reach the hyper limit."
"Please Luke." Thad's voice took on a slight pleading note. No one else would have caught it, but Luke knew him too well. For a second his mind went back to the socially inept bunkmate that had moved into his room a Saganami Island. But only for a second. Then his mind fast-forwarded to the present, and his view of the man standing in front of him mutated with the added knowledge of what Thad really was and was capable of. It nearly wiped out his initial vision of Thaddeus Armstrong. Nearly, but a small flicker of that first impression remained.
"I'll think about it."
Thad let it go at that. That was why he now paced. If Luke were going to come, he would do so soon or not at all. An annoyed chitter came again from his now constant companion. Thad thought a silent apology at Taz, but couldn't squelch the anxiety that boiled in him. Although they were only recently bonded, Thad knew that other's emotional states, especially his own, were not only picked up by Taz but they also affected the cat's own emotional state.
His door chimed, and it opened to reveal Luke. He still wore the expressionless mask, but at least he had decided to hear whatever Thad had to say. Hope flared in Thad.
"Come in, sit down." He urged. Luke sat down in one of the chairs in front of Thad's desk. Thad himself sat down in the other chair in front of the desk. "Thank you for coming, I was worried that you wouldn't."
"I very nearly did just that. I consider myself a decent judge of character, but all of this," there was no need to specify what this was, they both knew all to well, "has come as quite a shock. You? A killer? I still hardly believe it. My entire view of you has changed. What you did in that briefing room merely reinforces this. The Thad I knew would never have did what you did and said what you said." As he spoke, Taz dropped from his perch and walked up to Luke and flowed up into his lap. His rumbling purr started up, and almost of its own volition, Luke's hand came up and started scratching behind the cat's ears.
"That is mostly his fault." Thad said, his finger pointing at the contented treecat luxuriating in Luke's lap. "I don't know exactly what it is, but since we bonded I have become more and more confident in my social skills."
"That's what I mean. It's like I don't even know you anymore!"
"Its still me Luke."
"Part of me want's to believe that, it really does. But I just don't know. I'm gonna need time to wrap my head around you being a custom made assassin."
That was the crux of the matter. Most of the Warspite's crew hadn't known him long enough to be deeply hurt by the startling revelations that had come out about his past. They were still forming opinions about their new captain, and this news was merely added to their view of Thad. Luke on the other hand had been Thad's closest friend since the academy. Surprisingly, the reverse was also true. It was that bond, that knowledge that they knew nearly everything about the other that had been sorely tested when the truth came out. At his core, Luke felt betrayed and hurt that his best friend had hid something as big as this from him. Intellectually he knew why Thad had kept from him, but it still came as a terrible shock.
"Take all the time you need." Thad said. At least Luke was making the attempt to save their friendship. And right now, that was all that mattered to Thad.
[Brig, PNS Orion, that same time]
Charles Braganovich waited for what seemed like an eternity after the door to his cell closed. With know way to tell exactly how long the period was, he wanted to make sure that he waited at least an hour because no one was due to check in on him till breakfast the next day. Once he was sure around an hour had passed he whipped out the chip reader. On it was a simple message.
"Sir: Your command has been passed on to one of Grant's flag officers. He is a real hard case who smacks State Security personnel hard for even minor slipups. Both his and Grant's personal opinions of State Security personnel have been made amply clear since your internment. It is because of this that I have sent you this message. They have proven themselves to be subversives and traitors to the People. But none of our State Security personnel are in a position to stop them. Only you have the ability to tell the Committee of their actions. To this end, I am planing on staging a jailbreak before the mission ends.
Captain Givens, loyal servant of the People"
A slow, satisfied smile spread across Charles features. At last the true defenders of the people were standing up to the elitist navy he thought. Charles was a true believer of the Committee's policies. He enjoyed the power his position true, but deep down he believed that it was State Securities right to exercise their power as the defenders of the Committee and the People.
Charles thought Givens believed as he did. He had no idea that Captain Givens' true reason for contacting him was far from the shining paragon of defense of the People that he said it was. While he and the rest of the Orion's crew had been worked harder under Charles than they had under previous squadron commanders, it hadn't been all that bad. But under the new squadron commander put in place by Admiral Grant, things had gotten much, much worse. Every spare second the squadron had was spent in endless drills and simulations. Givens himself hated the massive amount of extra work, and in that he wasn't alone. But other members of the squadron disliked being under the command of a Navy officer. What everyone in the squadron disliked the most was having their noses rubbed in the fact that they were no where near up to Navy standards in their battle drill and tactics. Something that there new squadron CO never failed to do.
All in all, they would much rather have their usual slightly stuck-up CO instead of the real harda$$ they had now. So cautiously, they had begun discussing among themselves first their gripes with the new CO. Then, when the day's ticked by without let up, they had begun discussing ways to get rid of him. It wasn't a mutiny really. After all, their new CO wasn't even SS, he was Navy. That made all the difference in the world.
The officer manning the helm wasn't navy. He was ONI. You could tell it strait away, in his bearing, in his questing eyes. Aside from a few high ranking officers in the Admiralty and at the Office of Naval Intelligence, the only ones whom knew the location of looking glass was were on the ships of Task Force 55. While Thad resented having them fly his ship, and he was sure he wasn't alone in this, he could find no fault in their skill. They did their duty with as much skill as his own helmsmen would have.
"Coming out of Hyper in three� two� one�" And the ships of TF 55 reverted to an almost normal looking n-space. The massive disks of their Warshawski sails shimmered and glowed as they bled excess transit energies into the vastness of space. But their colorful display almost took a second place to the beauty in front of them. The main viewer was set to a forward visual pickup, and it showed the swirling mists of a nebula. Clouds of turquoise and violet spun and wove together in a slow motion dance of attracting particles.
Here and there, bright bands of golden yellow highlighted the edges of gaseous clouds. "Reconfigure for Impeller and set course 549 mark 30. Accelerate at 1000Gs." That seemed slow to Thad, but he accepted that the ONI officer most likely knew what he was doing so he said nothing. Thad walked over to the Warspite's navigator.
"You ever see a nebula like this Mr. Escobar?"
"I can't rightly say that I have Captain. And actually sir, it looks more along the size of an interstellar dust cloud. Perhaps that is why I can't place it. Most of the bigger ones are cataloged, but there are so many smaller ones, it gets difficult to dig up info on them."
Thad nodded in agreement, then snorted as a funny thought popped up in his mind. "Knowing ONI, this particular nebula is probably not even listed in the database." That got a chuckle out of his navigator. Despite having a few rough days, his officers had for the most part forgiven him for his past. Thad though that it was good that it had happened as fast as it did. Memories of a certain someone who still held reservations came into his mind unbidden. He quickly pushed them down again. Now was not the time for such feelings. Thad sat back down in his acceleration couch, and Taz quickly jumped down from his custom made chair, mounted to the left of Thad's, and into his person's lap. Once there, he returned his attention to the main viewer with its live feed from outside the ship.
Thad put a hand out and scratched his ever-present companion between his ears. Taz's eyes half closed and he began to purr contentedly, yet he continued to watch the main viewer intently. In that he was no different than anyone else with the time to spare to do so. The swirling patterns were a rare sight, even to those who spent most of their lives in space. Most settled systems were no where near any nebula or dust clouds, so it was rare to see one in person, especially this close.
This particular dust cloud, while smaller than most, was considerably denser than most. Thad glanced over at his repeaters and saw the particle density begin to steadily ramp up as they dove deeper into the nebula like cloud. Speed in open space was limited to around 0.8 c because of particle and rad shield limitations. Here in the dust cloud, that would be lowered considerably. As he watched the gauges registered 0.46 c and the particle density hitting the particle/rad shields was already causing some trouble. They, while as powerful as any mounted on a Battlecruiser, just weren't designed to shove aside as much matter as they were being asked to do now. The ONI officer turned to the com officer.
"Orders from the flag, the flotilla is to assume a max speed of 0.4 c"
Xaiver St.Laurence turned and stared at Admiral Cole standing to the right of Thad's acceleration couch. When he gave a barely perceptible nod, the officer complied "Aye sir."
The ONI officer turned to Cole and Thad with a slightly sour look. No doubt from having even this slim bit of information leak out about their destinations location. "Welcome to Looking Glass Nebula Sirs. The particle density will vary slightly as you move through the nebula, but by keeping your speed down near 0.4 c, you should have no problems." Thad and Cole both nodded that they understood. Having completed half of his mission, the ONI helmsman got up and stood near the rear of the bridge. He would have basically nothing to do until the Task Force was scheduled to return to Yeltsin. Once it was though, he would again take the helm. And he would do exactly what he had done on the approach leg, pilot the ship himself and remove any stellar fixes from the ships memory banks. This way, for the most part, the secret of Looking Glass Base would be kept secret.
The impeller wedges provided an impressive display as they grabbed and ripped the nebula's molecules from a virtual standstill to over 80,000 kps. Most went jetting off of the rear of the wedge, forming massive whirlwind vortices of energized particles. But some hit the wedge just right and had their electrons stripped off in a brilliant bluish-green spark. Taking in its entirety, the nebula was beautiful in a twisted sort of way. Whoever had named it after the old children's story had gotten it exactly right.
"Sir?" Jen Yuki got Thad's attention by her perplexed tone of voice. Thad stood, and Taz swarmed up the front of his uniform to perch on his shoulder. Once he was safely in place, Thad walked over to the Tactical station.
"What is it Miss Yuki?"
"I am not exactly sure sir. It could be a sensor ghost, but every once and a while I get a vague hit on sensors of something that just doesn�t add up." She sounded irritated that she couldn't pin it down. As she spoke Admiral Cole came up to them.
"Is it interference from the nebula?" Thad said
"Only in part sir. If what I am seeing is an actual target, its a lot harder target than even that could account for. Every time I get a half-decent return it seems to be coming from much closer than something with such a faint signature should have."
"Have you tried active sensors yet?" Admiral Cole suggested.
"No sir, passives only." Julius Custer came up to join the huddle as she spoke.
"What's up?" He said.
"Not sure yet. Could be a sensor ghost, but it keeps coming back near the same vector."
"With your permission sir," Thad said turning to Cole, "I would like to ping with active sensors."
Cole thought about it for a few seconds. Out of the corner of his eye, Thad thought that he saw the ONI operative make as if to say something, then stopping himself. And was that a hint of a smile on his face? Before he could devote more attention to the problem, Cole spoke.
"Permission granted Captain."
"Thank you sir. Miss Yuki, let em know they have been spotted."
"Sure thing Skip!" As she spoke, her fingers flew across her board, activating the Warspite's active sensors. Within seconds, they were streaming out so much energy that nothing in range could remain hidden, even it the thick soup of the nebula. "Sir! Contact bearing 449 mark 682. MULTIPLE CONTACTS SIR! Range 20,000 km."
"Sound General Quarters! Guns, talk to me, what are they?" Even before he finished, the ear piercing wail of the GQ alarm started up. As he was talking to Jen, Admiral Cole was telling the com officer to send a Task Force wide all ships GQ signal. If those contacts proved hostile, it was going to be pretty bad for the Task Force. In most combat, there was ample warning for both sides to see eachother and get to GQ and into their skin suits before that happened. But these contacts had gotten considerably closer than was usual before they had been seen. That meant that weapons were only now being warmed up. It also meant that virtually no one was in a skin suit.
Jen sounded irritated again, but with that was surprise. "Its hard to get a reading on them sir, even now, but they appear to be LAC's!"
"LAC's?!" Both Cole and Thad said in unison.
"Yes sir. It appears to be a flight of about 12 Light Attack Craft." Then Xaiver got their attention.
"Sir, one of the LAC's is transmitting. Its in standard Manticoran coding!"
"Put it up Mr. St.Laurence."
"This is Her Majesties LAC Alpha One calling Commanding Officer Task Force Fifty Five. Sorry to cause you any alarm," There was a corous of stifled laughter in the back ground, "but we get so few visitors around these parts that we couldn't resist doing a little mock attack run."
"This is Admiral Bruce Cole, couldn't you have given us any warning that you were preparing to do this?"
"We were simulating an attack on a unaware squadron. It was a test to see just how effective the current ECM suite is. When all you have to track is sensor drones, you jump at the chance to stalk bigger fish."
"Understood Alpha One, just make sure that from now on, you let us know when you have something like this planned."
"Roger that TF 55. We better head back to the barn. Be seeing ya" And with that final transmission, the small targets turned and fled away from the task force.
"Sweet Tester, look at the speed of those things!" Custer muttered under his breath. He wasn't alone, many others on the bridge also swore or uttered low whistles. Thad caught the ONI operative's eye, and on it there was a self-satisfied smirk. So you knew that those LAC's would be here eh? And you chose to let us get all hot and bothered about them to get back at having to bring us to your little secret base of course. Thad almost smiled back.
CHAPTER 27 [GSN Warspite's Main Bridge, Looking Glass Nebula]
The arrayed ships of TF 55 drifted farther and farther into the depths of the nebula. Suddenly the gas-shrouded bulk of Looking Glass Base began to seemingly materialize in front of them. It was easily almost as big as Her Majesties Space Station Hephaestus, but she lacked the clean lines of that station. Instead she was an ungainly patchwork of systems, as if her designers couldn't make up their minds on the final design and changed it repeatedly mid build. Around her mid point was what looked like construction slips. Some were for destroyer sized vessels, others looked like they could build super dreadnought sized hulls. Higher up on her superstructure was what looked like a series of launch rails, rails very similar to those mounted inside Thad's own ship. Only these were larger, more like something that would go inside a Super Dreadnought's hull. Part of her looked like a series of massive bays, and it took only a few more seconds of observation to realize exactly what they were. One of them opened its interior to space, and the rear end of a LAC poked out as it slid stern first from its birth.
It was the right size for a Light Attack Craft, but it was arranged all wrong for conventional LAC construction. There were none of the normal broadside box launchers that normal LAC's mounted. Instead all weapons seemed to face forward. But that was stupid, Thad thought, because having a ship be forced to cross its own T every time it had to attack was suicide. Then his mind made the connections, a bow wall� They must have a bow wall generator just like the one mounted on the Warspite. But how they managed to shrink it down to a size capable of fitting in something as small and fragile as a LAC was amazing. And the LAC bow wall became even more probable when Thad saw the massive thrusters that this LAC mounted. They were steadily pushing the LAC away from its base, opening the distance till it was safe for it to light up its wedge.
With thrusters like that, it could physically move its throat away from danger without having to drop its bow wall to maneuver. Then once it was out of the line of fire, it could drop it and use the stunning acceleration that they had shown when TF 55 first entered the nebula to zip out and line up for another pass.
"Sir, I have a Commodore Kent on the line from Looking Glass Base."
"Put it up." Thad said.
"TF 55, this is Looking Glass control. Welcome to wonderland! I trust that your trip down our little rabbit hole wasn't to exciting?" the Commodore said with a mischievous glint in his eye.
"Other than being bounced by your LAC squadron, no."
"Well then, how about we get down to business. Do you feel up to some wargames against our LAC squadron? They are certainly itching for some credible competition."
"Admiral? I certainly am not opposed to a little payback. I'm sure if we put our heads together, we can teach those hotshots a lesson in humility." Cole was only too willing to commit to such a tactic.
"By all means Captain." He said with relish. "Commodore, you may tell your LAC crews that we accept their challenge."
Kent smiled brightly. "Thank you Admiral, Captain. You may proceed to coordinates 339 mark 481. Exercise to begin in one standard hour."
[That same time, Main Bridge, PNS Lion]
The ships of BG 109 lay still in space, their drives powered but not in use. The translation from hyperspace to n-space had been uneventful. Their objective loomed in front of them. The nebula the Manties called Looking Glass was right where intel had said it should be. That was reassuring, because it meant that the rest of the information was probably right as well. It would have been exceedingly irritating to have come all this way into allied held territory and find only empty space where there was supposedly a nebula hiding a top secret R&D facility. But the nebula was there, so it was time to try and find the base hidden within.
"Orders to the Battle Group. Assume formation gamma nine and proceed on course. Cruiser screen is to advance ahead of the main body and scout the location of our target. Once it is located, they are to immediately report back to the flag." Admiral Sarah Grant ordered.
At least the State Security Battle Cruisers had gotten nearly as reliable as her Navy units. Part of her still raged against making the SS any more dangerous than it already was, but she needed a weapon she could trust if it came to battle. That a$$ Braganovich had been their main stumbling block to becoming effective. The ships CO's took their cue from him. And he was not exactly a perfect role model for them to choose. The drills that the officers she had placed in the command structure of those SS ships were beginning to pay dividends. At first the SS personnel had resented being subjugated to naval officers' orders, but when they began seeing how much their ships and crews could do, most of them came around with surprising rapidity. True there were still troublemakers, Braganovich's flag captain chief among them, but the increased efficiency and lethality of the SS ships were gradually silencing them. Part of Sarah's mind still said that placing Braganovich back on his own ship, even though he was isolated to the brig, was a mistake. But she had wanted to make an example of him, to all SS personnel but to his own crew in particular. They were the most difficult ones to convince that Navy discipline and training were necessary. As Sara thought, the wall of cruisers fanned out in front of the rest of the fleet. One after the other, they disappeared into the swirling gasses of the nebula.
Captain Enid Cortez looked up as her tac officer's sharp intake of breath.
"What is it."
"At this range I can't be certain Citizen Captain, but it looks like a massive construct of some sort. Most likely our target, but we will have to get in closer to be certain."
"Continue on course, passive scans only. And be sure to have the impellers ready to go at an instant's notice. If we are detected, and they are armed, I want to be able to leave here ASAP. And inform the flag via tight beam that we may have found the target."
"Of course Citizen Captain."
The main body was only around 30 minutes flight time behind the wave of scouts. This way, it could rapidly respond to any of the scouts, no matter which one found their objective. They were still to far away to help if the cruiser found anything that intel said had no business here. The cruisers had ghosted silently into the nebula with their drives down. With the new Solarian League stealth systems, they disappeared from sensors almost immediately. In order to pinpoint the enemy and not give themselves away, they were forced to proceed on a predetermined course through the center of the nebula. With everything down to minimal levels, they weren't very fast, but they were able to cover their assigned area in the time Admiral Grant had assigned. Time ticked slowly by and the People's Navy cruiser Valor drifted deeper into the nebula.
"Passives getting a firmer lock now Citizen Captain. It's most definitely the target."
"Excellent, transmit that news to the flag. Now try to get us around to a path that guarantees that they won't see us in return." The Valor brought its wedge up to minimal power and started low powered ECM. With a little luck, it should be enough to hide their impeller signature. And any Manty that caught it would most likely dismiss it as background static from the nebula. With smooth grace, the ship swung around and began to backtrack its original course.
[Looking Glass Recon Patrol Alpha, that same time]
The LAC swam through the nebula with a smooth ease. It was the test bed for a reconnaissance package equipped Shrike LAC variant. And where better to test it than in the same system that built the prototypes of the Shrike itself. It sacrificed all internal armament, including the spinal mount Battle Cruiser grade graser, to fit in the sensitive passive and active sensor systems. And because of the Shrike's extensive use of stealth and signature masking tech, it was a very stealthy snoop.
"Skip," LAC 23 "Alfred"s sensor operator said to the LAC's commander, "I got an unknown contact at bearing 873 mark 229. Possible ship, but because of nebula interference, I can't be certain of the type or size."
"Initiate a closing course to bring us nearer the contact. It's probably just one of those ships from TF 55. Most likely got lost in their first time in a nebula." Commander Curtis Sharp sniggered. The rest of his crew followed suit. The war game area was over 1 million km away. And being that Curtis and his crew had been here for over 2 standard years, they knew the ins and outs of the nebula. Not that they hadn't gotten lost a time or two before they got their legs. The Nebula could be a very difficult place to find your way in if you strayed too far from a nav fix beacon. They were tied with the FTL com and Gravitic sensor array. All three systems were stuck into satellites seeded throughout the nebula.
"Closing on the contact sir. She's got her drive offline, coasting deeper into the center of the nebula and�" the sensor operator stopped mid sentence with an unusual abrupt ness. Cmdr. Sharp looked in her direction to see what had caused it. As he did, he too seemed to stop breathing. The single sensor contact had blossomed to become just one of many. The plot began to have a steadily increasing number of contacts, four, 10, 25, the number kept ramping upward. Curtis found his voice first.
"Those ain't ours. Look at the mass estimates of those in the middle. They have to be Battleships. Mass is too little for Dreadnoughts and too high for a Battle Cruiser. And you and I know that neither Manticore nor any of our allies have any. SH!T!" He swore. "Peeps! Gotta be! Get on the FTL com NOW! Alert Looking Glass Base to our situation and give them preliminary estimates on the enemies' strength. Slow our approach to match speed with the enemy formation. Make sure our systems are locked down to EmCon mode. If they haven't seen us yet the soon will if we keep closing the distance." Thank God we have some friendly units nearby for a change. Against the weight of metal coming at them, they may not be able to do much, but they were better than having the Peeps get the station without any fight at all.
[PNS Valor, Main Bridge, that same time]
"Citizen Captain, I have a faint sensor contact coming from almost dead ahead, range 1.3 million km and dropping fast!" That wasn't good. It was too soon for the contact to a friendly ship.
"Is there no way to avoid it?"
"I'm sorry Citizen Captain, but we got to close before we detected her. If we break off now, we are sure to be detected."
"Damn. OK, what are your readings on her?"
"She masses about the same as a heavy Battle Cruiser, but her signature is unlike anything I have in my database."
Hmmm. A Battle Cruiser would be a tough nut to crack. But he had surprise on his side. It might just be enough to tip the scales. And besides, escape wasn't an option. The Valor captain began to issue the necessary orders.
[GSN Warspite, Main Bridge, That same time]
The Warspite had gotten the short end of the stick as far as Thad was concerned. His first officer agreed with him.
"Damn it! I wanted to be part of this exercise, not sit back and act like a mechanical casualty before the fight even begins. Stupid computer!" His Grayson accent was even more pronounced than normal. It was as sure a sign as any that he was angry.
"I hate it to Exec, but it is conceivable that we could have had a catastrophic node failure just prior to going into battle. The computer computes the probabilities and decides how often it will happen in real life. It then throws spanners into the works at seemingly random. Just like real life." No one liked to be arbitrarily thrown out of even a simulated fight just because a computer said you couldn't fight.
"I know that, it just doesn�t make it any easier to swallow!" Taz took a moment from his lazing on Thad's lap to snigger at Custer. Warspite's XO shook his skinsuit enclosed fist at the furred tormentor. "And you, you little fuzz ball, you aren't helping me calm down either!" That merely made Taz bleek with laughter. The entire crew had their skinsuits on, for even mock battles could have accidents. But since it was a mock battle, sidewalls were not energized, and PD, while online, wasn't powered up either.
[GSN Warspite, Flag Bridge, That same time]
I should be leading this battle, not stuck here, declared a casualty by the computer, Cole thought. Cole sighed and paced the length of the flag bridge's holo tank. His eyes moved over the points of light that swam in perfect formation there. Despite having their flagship and admiral out of action, the rest of the battle group was doing quite well according to the reports coming in across the FTL com net.
Those new class of LAC had been devilishly hard targets, and they had managed to sneak in close before they launched their first devastating barrage down the open kilts of TF 55. They had managed to destroy two of the BC's and cripple a destroyer, but that had been the extent of the damage. Of course the tonnage and crew lost was highly in the Shrike LAC's favor, the two BC's that they killed out massed them by almost ten times. And in terms of crew lost, the numbers were enough to make any spacer's blood run cold. For a mere handful of personnel lost with their LAC's, they killed over 5,000. Now if they were able to strike in numbers, the battle would have been a different story, and not one that Cole liked to contemplate. His command could have been gutted if there had been even twice as many Shrikes. But there were only ten of them going up against 10, top of the line Battle Cruisers and their escorts, and the sheer number of weapons arrayed against them dictated that their first pass would be their last.
Cole had also learned from Looking Glass' CO that certain members of the Manticoran Admiralty were dragging their feet in approving this new LAC for production. That was sheer idiocy, especially considering how only ten of them had given the best the Alliance had a black eye so quickly. When the task force returned to Grayson, he intended to send a letter to them expressing his vehement support for crash building program for the new LAC.
[PNS Valor, Main Bridge, That same time]
Citizen Captain Higgins sat calmly in his chair. But that calm was a fa�ade, hiding his stark fear. Going up against a Manty BC in a Heavy Cruiser was slightly insane, but it was either that or surrender his ship without a fight. And Higgins wasn't one to do that. His Commissioner stood near his right shoulder, watching over the comings and goings on the bridge. He was your run of the mill Commissioner, totally blind and stupid to military matters and tactics, yet a stickler for the rules and very demanding that he be included in all decisions. But he was also an aggressive man, one to jump on the attack when the opportunity presented itself. That trait, combined with his blissful ignorance of all things military, allowed Higgins and his XO to convince Commissioner Veers that attack was the preferable path. And who knew, they might even get lucky and bag that unaware Manty BC.
Plotting had not been able to use active sensors, lest they broadcast their position with a giant billboard and flashing lights. But they could and did use passive arrays, and the enemy BC was in a firm lock. The nebula was both a curse and blessing. It limited passive and active sensor range considerably. But it also masked a low powered wedge very effectively, allowing the Valor to sneak in far closer to its prey than it would have in any other condition. The fact that the enemy vessel was being so kind and kept its drive powered at full, even though it was barely moving, made it a bright target for passives to lock on to.
"Coming up on launch point Citizen Captain." It was the point that his tactical officer estimated they would finally be spotted. It was closer than he had hoped, and he dared not press his luck to close still further. His ship had warm impellers, but it didn't have its wedge up. Once it launched its initial salvo, he would energize it and roll his ship so that the impenetrable band of his wedge could interdict any return fire the enemy could mount. Not that Higgins was expecting much. If he got a clean drop on the Manty, there shouldn't be much left to fire back after his initial salvo.
"Any sign they have seen us yet?"
"None."
"Citizen Commissioner, I suggest that you sit down in your acceleration couch. Things may get a little bumpy."
"A prudent course of action Citizen Captain."
Don't mention it you officious pain in the posterior, Higgins thought. He then saw that instead of racking his helmet on the chair's holder, he held it in his lap and drummed his fingers on it. He almost told the Commissioner to lock it into the rack, but then decided not to. If the Commissioner's helmet got thrown out of his hands from a hit, and the bridge lost pressure, too bad for him. He had been warned numerous times how vital it was that the skin suit helmet be securely stored lest just such a thing happen. He never seemed to listen. And, Higgins thought, if Commissioner Trent got killed because of his own stupidity, well that would just be a real shame now wouldn't it.
[GSN Warspite, Main Bridge, That same time]
Jennifer Yuki stared intently at the tactical holo tank. It currently displayed the latest round of wargames. After this one, the Warspite was supposed to lead half of the TF against the other half of the TF under Captain Natalia Hect on the Copernicus. And Hect was supposed to have all of the LAC's but she couldn't use ghost rider equipment. The current one called for the LAC's to attack just TF 55's heavy cruiser and lighter units. The LAC's had fallen back to a point well away from where the phalanx of light units hung. They were supposed to make a discreet approach and then attack. Some of the DD's were mimicking merchantmen, with their drives, sensors and maneuverability artificially downgraded to normal merchantmen levels. They were the LAC's true targets. Any escort that they bagged afterward was just icing on the cake.
Jen's panel beeped at her, demanding her attention. She frowned and focused her attention on her readouts, the current wargame forgotten. "What the hel�?"
CHAPTER 28 [PNS Valor, Main Bridge, That same time]
"Launch missiles!" At Higgins' command, the deadly missiles flushed from their internal magazines on an invisible impetus from the electromagnetic driver coils built into the launch tubes walls. As soon as they had achieved a safe distance from their mother ship, they lit off their drives and howled in on their target, their computer brains intent on self-immolation. "Roll the ship to starboard. Launch the starboard broadside at the target as they bear"
[GSN Warspite]
Suddenly the holo tank reset to form its normal combat picture and the GQ alarm began to automatically wail. As the first notes of the alarm sounded, Taz leaped down from his person's lap and secured himself into his custom made acceleration couch next to Thad's. That was one thing that both he and his person had practiced quite frequently. Although he wasn't a hundred percent sure, Thad thought that his little friend had understood the gist of why such a thing was necessary. It was gleaned primarily from the way Taz seemed entirely focused on the task, when he normally was more concerned with what trouble he could get into instead. He secured his chair's restraints like a professional spacer. But Thad could spare him only a split second glance.
"Missiles inbound, bearing 872 mark 311! Closing fast, range 1,230,000 km! Multiple inbounds!" Jen said. Despite the shock she must be feeling, none of it colored her voice. She just shouldered her responsibility for fighting the ship like the experienced professional she was.
"Roll the ship! ROLL THE SHIP!! Get the sidewalls up pronto! Authorize PD crews weapons free! Bring main batteries online!" As he spoke he locked his acceleration couch around him. The rest of the bridge crew was doing the same.
"I count 15 missiles in the first salvo. Time till engagement range 30 seconds!"
This was going to be close Thad thought.
[PNS Valor]
Even as his first salvo streamed in on the Manty, the ship began a desperate roll. The two ships would pass eachother at slightly oblique angle. The approach vectors had almost allowed the Valor an up the kilt shot. But the laws of chance had decided to give the Manty BC a fighting chance. With no clean shot into the vulnerable throat and kilt of the enemy's wedge, the Valor had been forced to attack from the side. Normally these areas were protected by powerful sidewalls. But this Manty, thank God, wasn't expecting trouble. He therefore had his sidewalls down, to prevent unnecessary wear on the generators. And in this chance had decided to throw the People's Navy Ship Valor a bone. Instead of an impenetrable impeller band, the basically naked flank of the enemy was pointed almost directly at the oncoming Havenite missiles.
Higgins scowled. That ship was rolling pretty fast for a BC, even a Manty one. But it wasn't going to be enough. There were no counter missiles racing to intercept his birds, and only a few PD laser clusters opened up, spraying their beams wildly with no real aiming. They didn't have time to acquire locks before his missiles entered attack range. His bridge crew howled in triumph as their birds struck home.
[GSN Warspite, Main Bridge]
The ship staggered as the Peep missiles slashed in on her exposed flank and damaged alarms began to wail. Her roll had presented the roof of her wedge to most of the incoming missiles. 12 wasted their coherent fury on the impenetrable band of stressed gravity. The other three streaked in to attack the exposed side of the BC. The sidewall generators had come fully online, but the sidewall itself was still only half formed when the three missiles detonated. The first one smashed into the nebulous barrier of the still energizing port sidewall. The barrier was strong enough to blunt the attack, bending the beam's destruction away from the Warspite's hull, but it smashed the sidewall away in the process
The second missile launched its deadly tendrils of energy on the heels of the first. With virtually no sidewall to provide a barrier it slashed in virtually unopposed, cutting deep into the hull. It gutted the port forward boat bay and took out a missile tube. The third and final missile of the salvo knifed in and sent its beams into the hull, cutting through armor which barely slowed it down. It cut through the recreation area and took a graser mount out. Continuing on its merry path of destruction, it flashed into the Flag Bridge.
[GSN Warspite, Flag Bridge]
Things were happening to fast, Cole thought. The Warspite needed time to bring her systems to full readiness. But time was one thing that fate wouldn't give any more of. One minute Admiral Cole was strapped securely in his acceleration couch, the next he was lying on his back on the other side of the room. All he heard was a loud roar, one that went on and on. Above him the acrid smoke that spoke of burned synthetics and equipment moved towards the other side of the room with increasing rapidity. Then it began to quiet and Cole found it harder and harder to breathe. He tried to move to reach for his helmet, but his hands wouldn't work. They merely twitched when he reached for his skinsuit's helmet.
Then a helmeted face appeared above his. Strong hands moved rapidly and he felt the seal of his helmet snap into place just as his vision grayed out.
[PNS Valor]
The main view showed the still rolling Manty ship as her port side belched atmosphere and debris. His crew were still congratulating themselves. Most of them were green recruits, with only a few senior veterans sprinkled among them. The veterans weren't celebrating though. They had the same grim look as their Captain. Their first strike hadn't succeeded in crippling the enemy, and now it was far, FAR too late to turn away. The distance rapidly ticked down, they were into each other's energy envelope now.
His second salvo was stopped short of attack range. The time between barrages had allowed the PD crews to bring their systems fully online, and they walked deadly fire through his gaggle of missiles. Only four survived the storm of counter missiles and last ditch lasers to attack. Of those, two wasted themselves on the roof of the BC's wedge. The other two lashed against the now fully formed starboard sidewall. It laughed contemptuously at their efforts to harm it.
Even as he watched, the plot began to get fuzzy with interference as the enemy brought his ECM online. The sheer power of it was mind-boggling. The Valor turned its initial broadside to again face the foe, but this time the Manty was prepared and ready for it.
[GSN Warspite, Main Bridge]
"She's coming around for another attack sir!" Jen said.
"Target with all main energy mounts and fire as they bare!" Our turn now Peep, Thad thought.
The two vessels brought their broadsides to bear at nearly the same time. But nearly the same time just wasn't good enough in an energy duel where the one whom shot first won. Following normal Grayson shipbuilding doctrine, the Warspite mounted less energy weapons than a Manticoran BC would. But those they did have were considerably more powerful. They were almost as powerful as the graser mounts on a Dreadnought, and they were all online and locked on the Peep Cruiser. The Warspite rolled her broadside towards the Peep. Once the angle had become shallow enough, 12 heavy grasers spat invisible streams of death. Seconds later, the only thing left of the Havenite Cruiser Valor was wreckage lighted by the star bright boil of its failed fusion plants. A chorus of howls reverberated around the bridge.
"Damage report!" Thad snapped, after letting them enjoy their victory for a few moments. They had done well in their second engagement, so they deserved their congratulations.
"Hull breaches forward of compartment 32 frame 5 and rear of compartment 12 frame 9. Engineering teams are set to patch the breaches ASAP. Port graser 10 and boat bay two are damaged but repairable. Port side missile tube 13 is inoperative. She took a direct hit, and Santos figures that it will require yard work to fix. The good news is that the magazine cross feeds are still intact, so we can still fire tube 13's missiles out the remaining tubes. Now for the bad news. The Flag Bridge was also hit. Personnel losses include 10 dead and 24 wounded, including Admiral Cole." Custer rattled off the report with a voice leached of emotion.
"Admiral Cole? What happened?" Thad demanded.
"It is still under review, but the med team says that he has severe internal injuries including a damaged spine. I have no further information at present." This was only the second time his ship had seen battle, and though she had equated herself well, they were down their most senior officer.
"Please find out soonest. Anything on the scope Guns?" Thad queried his tac officer.
"My scans aren't picking up anything skip."
"Then secure from GQ but keep an extra close eye for anything suspicious." Damn. Damn, Damn, DAMN! With Cole incapacitated, command for the entire TF devolves to me, Thad thought. This wasn't supposed to be happening. This entire trip was supposed to be a nearly routine training mission. Now everything has gone to hell. That was a Peep cruiser, no doubt about it. And Thad was willing to bet good money that it wasn't alone. His fears proved true seconds later when a flash message came in over the FTL com.
"Sir, I have a SITREP from Looking Glass Base. It says that they are currently tracking what appears to be a heavy PRH assault force making a beeline straight for it."
Things just keep getting better and better, Thad thought. "Orders to all units, proceed max speed to rendezvous at Looking Glass Base."
[GSN Warspite, Main Bridge, 20 minutes later]
"And that ladies and gentlemen is the long and the short of it. We can either leave now and give a heck of a lot of our next generation tech to the Peeps, or we can fight them." Thad spoke into the pickup above the panel showing all his heavy unit commanders and lighter unit squadron CO's. While his left hand made a helpless gesture, the right was absently stroking the treecat in his lap. Thad could feel the warmth and support flowing into him from Taz. The depths of his gratefulness couldn't be measured, for Thad was sure that without it he wouldn't be able to remain as calm as he was now.
"But sir," Luke Killkreek piped up, "current tonnage estimates give them a considerable edge, and they will have nearly the same amount of missile launchers as we do. And judging from their low accell, even accounting for the nebula's particle density, means that they are carrying pods of their own." His face was filled with concerned thought as they worked through the numbers. Taking mere BC's, even ones as hardy as the Warspite class, against Battleships wasn't a paying proposition. Or at least it wouldn't have been if not for one minor difference between the BC's of TF 55 and your normal allied BC.
"I know, but they won't have near as many as we will. And they won't have Ghost Rider. It is with these two items that I feel that we can win against them. I won't sugarcoat it for you, the odds aren't good. But the other choices are even less palatable. They are to either sacrifice Looking Glass' personnel and destroy the station ourselves to prevent it falling into Peep hands, or to let the personnel live but give the Peeps a massive leg up in the tech department. They have been getting enough of that sort of thing from their Solly sympathizers. And consider the blow to Alliance morale when it becomes common knowledge that the Peeps raided our most secret R&D facility."
Luke sighed. "I have to agree with your logic Thad, but part of me wishes that there was some other way to get out of this one." In his current state, Luke seemed to have forgotten all about his hurt feelings. This was either a good thing, or a sign of just how hard Luke had been shaken.
"I wish there was another way as well, but I can't see one. Its gotta be this way, as much as its gonna hurt." Thad took a deep breath, then continued. "The Task Force will form up and proceed on course 742 mark 3 immediately." The assembled CO's answered with a chorus of Aye Sir's. "They say fortune favors the bold, so by my reckoning we should be very fortunate indeed. God Speed! Armstrong out." No sooner had he closed the circuit than he was besieged by nearly all of his senior officers.
"Sir," Cmdr. Custer began in that respectful yet commanding tone of voice that Exec's used when they thought their CO was doing something stupid. "I must again strongly recommend that you transfer to a less damaged ship."
"We have been over this already Julius. I will not transfer off of this ship. She is still quite combat worthy."
"But sir�" Jen chimed in. Thad cut her off with an upraised palm.
"But nothing! This is my ship and I'll be damned if I will run away from her now. She has already gotten me through two battles and I have no doubts she'll get me through the third safe and sound. Now get back to your posts, we have a battle to win."
-------------------- Jack O'Neal - I like their style. Shoot first, send flowers later.
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
Printer-friendly view of this topic
